India, after suffering an 184-run loss at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, has come hard on this edition of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. They have fallen 1-2 behind in the series of five matches, and as doubts plague their qualifying chances for the WTC final, rumbles about unrest in the Indian dressing rooms adds fuel to the fire. There is still one test, to be held at Sydney, where India can still hope of winning and drawing the series, making it 2-2 and retaining the trophy.
Former India head coach Ravi Shastri meanwhile went on and proffered an honest critique about India’s downfall during the Boxing Day Test. In his column for The Daily Telegraph, Shastri wrote that ‘poor shot selection on either side of the middle session’ on the final day cost the visitors the Test match.
Shastri, meanwhile, did not mention specific players but admitted that the dismissals of “two senior players and a junior” would come under heavy scrutiny.
“I’m sure it was a great experience for the Indian crowds travelling from all parts of the globe to experience Test cricket at its best at the ‘G’,” wrote Shastri.
“Unfortunately, with some poor selection of shots either side of the middle session on the final day, India lost the game. And that has probably ensured that India may have lost its grip on the Border Gavaskar Trophy with one Test to go,” he added.
“There are going to be a few other second-innings dismissals that will be scrutinised back in India also involving two senior players and a younger one, under the category of three very loose shots,” Shastri stated.
He also pointed out the leadership performances by Rohit and his Australian counterpart, Pat Cummins, who was the player of the match.
“It doesn’t help when one of them, involved the captain, is struggling; it doesn’t help when Cummins raises his game to a scale of 8 or 9 when up against their counterpart, who is at the opposite end of the scale,” said Shastri.
